I miss an open fire.
Warmth, these days,
is breathed out of the thin lips
of a plastic vent commanded
by a button.
There is nowhere now
where I can sit
and stare into the depths
of a dancing flame,
enter that sacred space
where thoughts and mystery
meet and reconnects something
in me to its earliest roots.
I miss how an open fire
centres life around its glow,
how it works to draw us in,
gathers us to share
in its living warmth.
I miss how it fills in the silence
with its sounds,
the crackle, the whispering hiss,
the sudden bump
of a falling log. I miss
poking and prodding
the charcoal remains, breaking
them apart and seeing embers
ignite into a bright spill of flame.
I miss the smell
of burning wood, the incense
that first sanctified our ancestors
humble homes and awakened
a wonder that set us off
on our human quest.
I get it that an open fire is now
not an environmentally friendly
choice but a polluting relic
of the past. I know
the romance of it
no longer thrives.
It's rather like old religion,
better gone, but it leaves
a hole in our lives.
It’s the Cocker Spaniels this time the media screams
I roll my eyes, wondering when the cats will get some blame
Or the monkeys, cheetahs, sharks or giraffes
They are diabolical, plotting your death, the announcer says
I do not plot her death, but I plot taping her mouth up.
The pit bulls were the last group to blame.
What about the housewives? Do they use environmentally friendly detergent?
or the house husbands….do they recycle their lard like grandma did?
How about the grandmas who feed their pets with Styrofoam?
We are the polluters.
We are the litterers.
We are the ones driving cars one person at a time.
But let’s blame the Cocker Spaniels.
I shut off the T.V.
Guess my reputation could be sweeter, but hey-
At least I'm not a skunk!
Backbiting scrounger you say?
I like to call it being environmentally friendly;
No waste when I'm around, I can assure you!
I'm not the coolest looking dude in the bush;
hunchbacked, slitty-eyed and spotty
But those alpha females go crazy for my shaggy back.
And what I lack in charm, I make up for in speed and wit.
You should hear the pack cackle at my jokes!
And my chat-up line works a treat:
'Hey darling, I've got a bone to pick with you!'
Survival in sub-Saharan Africa is no laughing matter
But we all have to let our hair down sometimes!
15.07.19
Pick A Title, Vol 6 - Personification - Poetry Contest : sponsored by Edward Ibeh
There is enough global geothermal energy,
to provide unlimited energy, environmentally friendly,
for thousands of years to everybody globally,
absolutely free.
All we have to do is apply the appropriate technology,
and establish a value system that eliminates greed.
And so it begins ...
The sad sad story
of why I’m lying in a hospital bed
with my right leg in traction
Valentine’s Day arrives
My girlfriend moans about her weight
So I didn’t buy any candy
It was just a small oversight!
In the evening I planned to propose -
Being environmentally friendly
I gave her a plastic rose
Big mistake!
When I got down on one knee
I presented her with
a ‘placeholder’ ring from the dime store
this was a HUGE error of judgement ...
With piercing stiletto heels
she kicked my knee from under me
I’d no chance to explain
I wanted US both to choose
her real diamond engagement ring!
And so it begins ... Poetry Contest
Contest sponsor Line Gauthier
2/9/19
Keep up with the latest news
Smart watches do more than just tell you the time
From ancient times we had clocks that were more environmentally friendly
Roosters were natural alarm clocks
It's the rooster that crows, but it's the chickens that lay the eggs
Personally I think it is time for a women's liberation
Up before the rooster crows ?
Thank you for long and faithful service ... the smell of fresh coffee
24.01.2017
Sun :) - A-L Andresen :)
Copyright © All Rights Reserved
in 2020 and beyond- chrismas could be different
gone the traditional tree
you may have one of
twisted wire
colored LED and pipes
maybe upside down for space
perhaps environmentally friendly trees
made with water bottles and PVC pipes
or a simple gold painted plywood tree shape
gone the traditional
santa will have a shiny silver electric car
the reindeer retired unwanted not needed
or he may have his own bright red jet
oh and no more jolly santa
he went on fiber super diet
and mrs santa he dumped
and no more down the chimney for santa
most of your gifts will be sent by federal express
all he will do is make a showing on christmas eve
with empty boxes to make an impression
no more baby dolls or barbie dolls or fire engines
for kids- they will get techno savy gadgets
and on line data as gifts or maybe a gift card
call me old fashion I think I will keep
the traditional for all of my life
and maybe I will give an unwanted reindeer
a forever home -
____________________________
November 17, 2015
Free Verse
Today I found you worm
Diabolic
In an old book's page
Vitriolic
In mnemonic rage
I squirmed frantic
For my chewed up words.
I thought I was breeding butterflies
Not a strange infestation.
Soft ugly stage
Before the swatter and swatting
Multiplied to wage
An internecine gossiping
About nothing you know
Nor who I am
That saw you pulsated and glow
With innards on fire
And just too much ashes for desire.
A worm in a book
Does not an academic make
It was the experience
That I foraged for credentials
Hoping to turn them
Into Sunday evening conversation
But the words I kept for that
You have chewed them up.
Being environmentally friendly
Do not assume
I sanction molestation
The story
Is infested with strange
Venom
Biodegradable
For when the corpse is done
Die the maggot as the flie
Die the termentation.
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